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The Citizen, 2015-04-09, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 9, 2015 Volume 31 No. 14 DONATION - Pg. 27 The Brussels Optimists support Autism Ontario SPORTS - Pg. 11 ‘The Citizen’ honours its winter sports teams Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Secret ballot to determine fate of partnership This one Mommy! The Brussels United Church did its part for Brussels residents celebrating the Easter holiday over the weekend, solving baking problems for residents by doing the work for them. The church held its annual Easter bake sale on Saturday and, as always, it made for a busy place as soon as it opened. Here, Beckett Noble, centre, does the choosing, while his mother Nicole, right, and grandmother Ruth Lowe, left, no doubt did the paying. (Jasmine deBoer photo) Festival doubles opening day sales A secret ballot on May 6 will determine the fate of a potential partnership between the 2017 International Plowing Match (IPM) and the 2017 Brussels Fall Fair. The secret ballot was proposed by Brussels Agricultural Society director Dorothy Cummings at the organization’s April 1 meeting. IPM Chair Jacquie Bishop spoke to the group at the April 1 meeting, further answering questions members might have. This comes after Bishop first proposed the partnership at the Society’s annual general meeting on Jan. 30. While Bishop said she couldn’t make the decision for the Society’s members, she said that due to a number of factors, the IPM committee is hoping for an answer within the first half of 2015 (before the end of June). One of the factors, she said, is that since reports of the potential partnership have been in the media, a number of other agricultural societies have come forward eager to partner their fair with the IPM. Bishop said she felt it was right to come to Brussels first due to obvious proximity and timing similarities, but was eager to move on to other potential partners if members of the Society didn’t want the two events working together. Bishop addressed a number of concerns that Society members had, but insisted on staying at an arm’s length when it came to any logistical decisions regarding the 2017 fair and what it would look like at the IPM. While she could instruct members what would and wouldn’t be feasible to be hosted at the fair, she said she didn’t want to make decisions for the directors or step on anyone’s toes when it came to decisions the Society should be making. On April 1, many of the Society’s members were concerned about costs associated with a potential partnership. If the Fair was to exhibit at the IPM, any space the group needed would have to be rented and paid for, as if it was a vendor. Bishop said she hoped the Society and its fair would have a big presence at the IPM, which means a higher cost to the Agricultural Society. Bishop, however, said that Society members wouldn’t be alone. She said that she and committee members could help them apply for grants, which could be more readily available under programs like Celebrate Ontario, which are aimed at tourism magnets and attractions that are adding something new and dramatic. An authentic, rural fair partnering with the IPM for the first time in IPM history, Bishop said, seems as though it would fit the grant’s criteria. Bishop said that the IPM also intended to apply for a Celebrate Ontario grant, but she didn’t see any reason why both organizations couldn’t be successful applicants. She also said that she hoped Brussels’ wealth of service clubs and volunteers could get involved, whether it be the Agricultural Society or the Optimist Club or the Lions and Leo Clubs. A potential partnership between the two organizations, Bishop said, would certainly mean that the Fair wouldn’t be all that it has been in past years, but that 2017 can be viewed as an opportunity to “do something different” and for Society members to “think outside the box” when it comes to planning. Society Vice-President Matt Cardiff, via e-mail, presented a number of ideas regarding the fair’s presence at the IPM. He said there Since public sales began on April 1, the Blyth Festival has seen a dramatic increase in ticket sales due to the excitement generated by this year’s season. “An incredible thing happened on opening day,” said Artistic Director Gil Garratt about the 2015 season, which will be his first at the head of the theatre. “I crunched the numbers and we were selling a ticket per minute that day, all day.” The sharp increase in first-day ticket sales worked out to 198 per cent of 2014 ticket sales, which was universally considered a successful season, essentially doubling year over year. Not only was there an increase in sales on April 1, Garratt said, but what those at the Festival were seeing was an influx of new names – people buying tickets to the Festival who hadn’t before. “I think people see the relationship in Blyth between the theatre and its audience and they want to be a part of that,” Garratt said. This year’s season begins on June 24 with Seeds. It will be followed by The Wilberforce Hotel, Fury and Mary’s Wedding on the main stage and Edna Rural’s Church Supper in the Phillips Studio. Garrratt says that both the strength of the plays and the talent of the teams that have been assembled have all contributed to the excitement surrounding the upcoming season. Now that all of the season’s shows have now been fully cast, Garratt says he’s excited to start to see the shows begin to take their form. He also feels that the success of the 2014 season, which featured Kitchen Radio among other shows, created a wave of momentum that has carried through to the 2015 season. He says the 2015 season will explore a “wide spectrum of shows and worlds” that he hopes will appeal to a wide audience and bring in patrons that have never before been to the Festival. Garratt knows, however, that it’s the people of Blyth and the immediate surrounding area that drives the Festival and it’s their enthusiasm that continues to support the Festival. “What we have in Blyth is an audience that is so adventurous and so willing to take part in the theatre and there are people who want to be a part of that,” Garratt said. To purchase Festival tickets, call the box office at 519-523-9300, toll- free at 1-877-862-5984 or online at www.blythfestival.com. For a full story detailing the casts for the 2015 Festival shows, check The Citizen next week. North Huron Publishing Company has a new presence on the internet. For more than a decade, North Huron Publishing and its periodicals, The Citizen,The Rural Voice, and Stops Along the Way have been online at northhuron.on.ca and, while that address hasn’t changed, the appearance and experience for visitors to the site has. The new site, with more accessible features, is being launched this week alongside digital subscriptions (or E- ditions as we’re calling them) for The Citizen and The Rural Voice. Digital subscribers will be able to log on to the new site from a computer or their mobile device and read the most current issues of the two periodicals wherever they are in Portable Document Format (PDF) through their internet browser. The site is a more visual experience, allowing access to all the same information that was on the old website but in a fresh new way highlighted by more images and a cleaner interface. Subscriptions to the physical versions of The Rural Voice and The Citizen will also be available through the site for those who wish to pay using PayPal, an online billing system that can accept credit card, debit card and banking information, allowing subscriptions to be bought anywhere at any time. The new website and services will be offered in conjuction with the same services already offered at the Blyth and Brussels offices of the company. Print subscriptions won’t be affected and will continue The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen ‘Citizen’ launches new website By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 27 Continued on page 23